Sunday, October 16, 2016

October 16, 2016 (CNN) Washington
(CNN)It's not a new Cold War. It's not even a deep chill. It's an outright
conflict.

US-Russia relations have
deteriorated sharply amid a barrage of accusations and disagreements, raising
the stakes on issues ranging from the countries' competing military operations
in Syria, disputes over Eastern European independence and escalating cyber
breaches. "This is a conflict, there
should be no doubt," said Matthew Rojansky, director of the Kennan
Institute at the Wilson Center, on the US-Russia confrontation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his
President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou
on September 5, 2016.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh
Earnest said the US was considering a "range" of
"proportional" responses to alleged Russian hacking of US political
groups. Washington publicly accused the Kremlin of cyberattacks on
election systems and the democracy itself last Friday. That came after talks on a Syria ceasefire
broke down as US officials suggested Russia be investigated for war crimes in
the besieged city of Aleppo. Moscow has steadfastly denied that it's meddling
in the US presidential election. In an interview this week with CNN's
Christiane Amanpour, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was a
baseless accusation.

"It's flattering, of course,
to get this kind of attention -- for a regional power, as President Obama
called us some time ago ... We have not seen a single fact, a single
proof," Lavrov said.

Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton has pointed to the hacks as evidence that Russia favors her GOP
opponent, Donald Trump. Appearing at an investment forum in Moscow on
Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed that charge.

"There was a whole hysteria
about that being of interest to Russia, but there is nothing within the
interest of Russia," Putin said.

"The whole hysteria is aimed
at making the American forget about the manipulation of public opinion,"
he added. "No one is talking about that, everyone wants to know who did
that, what is important is what is inside and what that information is
about."

Meanwhile, Moscow abruptly left a
nuclear security pact, citing US aggression, and moved nuclear-capable Iskandar
missiles to the edge of NATO territory in Europe. Its officials have openly raised the possible
use of nuclear weapons. And that's just the highlight reel. The friction
between Moscow and Washington -- by many assessments at its highest level since
the fall of the Berlin Wall -- led Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the
Soviet Union, to make a plea Monday for dialogue and de-escalation.

"I think the world has
reached a dangerous point," Gorbachev warned, according to Agence France
Presse. "This needs to stop. We need to renew dialogue," Gorbachev
said, commenting on the US decision to call off Syria talks. "Indeed, it's
not a Cold War," said Igor Zevelev, former director of the MacArthur
Foundation's Russia office. "It's
a much more dangerous and unpredictable situation." The full article is
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